Ward suffered what looked like an upper body injury midway through Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, and will not play Saturday when the Sharks host the Edmonton Oilers.

With 12:17 to go in the second period, Ward was chasing after a loose puck in the Knights’ zone when he was hit from behind hard into the boards by defenseman Nate Schmidt. Ward appeared to favor his right shoulder as he stayed on the ice for several moments and was led off by Sharks trainer Ray Tufts.

“It’s as dangerous a play as there can be in hockey. We all know the dangers of concussions, but head first into the boards is, I would put that at the top of the list,” DeBoer said. “Again, I’m just speechless by it, I don’t know what the call is. Is it two-minute boarding? It’s something, though.

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“You’ve got a veteran guy that’s out with a significant injury, that’s the disappointing part.”

Jannik Hansen will take Ward’s spot in the lineup as a winger on the Sharks’ fourth line.

Ward, who is in the final year of a three-year contract he signed with the Sharks prior to the 2015-16 season, has five goals and six assists in 46 games this season.

He had been playing mostly on the fourth line of late and skated in Thursday’s game with center Danny O’Regan and winger Barclay Goodrow.

“You feel for him,” DeBoer said. “It’s a loss for us. Leadership in the room and on the ice, and it’s the veteran guy that’s in the last year of his contract that’s playing for another chance to keep playing next year. It’s a tough blow personally and from a team standpoint.”

Hansen has been a scratch for the last seven games and has been in the lineup only three times in the last 19 games. Hansen has four assists in 28 games this season.

“Hopefully (do) something positive. There hasn’t been a whole lot of that, for some reason,” Hansen said. “It’s an opportunity. Take it and run with it. Obviously, it’s not an easy situation. But that’s the situation I’m in right now.”